Slaying Dragons
by Callie Ryan
Summary: Something unexpected, even by Castle's standards, leads Kate on an emotional journey - with a little help from her friends.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I'm just borrowing Mr. Marlowe et al's wonderful creations.

Slaying Dragons.

Detective Kate Beckett holstered her gun, knowing that it was over. It hadn't been an easy case by any stretch of the imagination, but they'd finally broke it wide open with a typically 'Castle' inspired revelation. This had led them to one of the seedier neighbourhoods in the city, and the knowledge that this guy was dangerous, vicious and was not going to make it easy on them. She, Ryan and Esposito, plus backup, had gone in hard. He'd been given his warning but as soon as he refused to relinquish his weapon, going to far as to fire one stray round in Ryan's direction, they had taken him down in less time than it had taken Castle to go rogue on her once more and make his way up to the shitty little SRO on his own. At least these days he always took care to wear his vest.

She had no way of knowing which of them had fired the kill shot, so as she waited for the CSUs to turn up and do their thing, she glanced around the room. To say squalid was being kind. The place wasn't worth the floor it was built on. Cracked, bare plaster, an ominous dripping sound came from somewhere underneath the sink and a smell that even after all her years on the force she couldn't – and didn't really want to – identify.

"Not exactly the Ritz, is it?" Castle's glib remark caused all three of the detectives in the room to turn towards him.

"Nah, man, why waste money on a concierge and decorative moulding when you can have cockroaches and rats?" Esposito replied as Castle did what Castle did best, snooped around.

Kate was busy calculating just how much crack was still stocked on the work bench when she heard Castle's voice from across the room.

"What was that…?"

Again the writer caused everyone's attention to leave whatever they were currently doing and their eyes to follow him as he started to push against what looked like a small stowaway cupboard.

"Castle… don't…"

As usual, Beckett's warning came a fraction of a second too late – not that he would have listened to her anyway – as she watched him pull the cupboard door open slightly, peer inside and then fling to door wide open.

"Oh my God!" It was the obvious shock in his voice that had her striding over to him. The same thing must have carried to Ryan and Esposito too, but they were closer and got there first. Their answering 'holy shit's' caused her skin to itch with foreboding.

It was really only a matter of seconds before she had crossed the room to reach the three men, but already Castle was shoulders deep in the cupboard and reaching to pull something out. Her hand automatically went to her holster and just as she was pulling out her Sig, she saw what Castle had lifted out of the tiny, dark space. She knew her mouth dropped open, but the sight before her shook her.

"Oh my God…"

"Exactly my thoughts, Detective Beckett…" Castle wasn't looking at her as he answered; rather he was staring at the unnaturally limp bundle he hadn't hesitated to settle into his arms.

This was not good.

She looked at her partners, their faces only showing the disgust and shock that was reflected on hers. That unnaturally limp bundle was quite obviously a baby, and after a quick assessment, Kate could see that, while shallow, the little chest was rising and falling. The baby was dirty, having been in less than sanitary conditions for who knew how long, obviously malnourished and, she thought sickly, fairly obviously drugged to keep quiet. She looked away, not able to swallow the disgust lodged firmly in her throat. Who in their right mind would… why would they… the questions flittered around her mind as she realised this case had just gotten a whole lot harder.

"Well, _this_ complicates matters." Ryan noted the obvious.

"No, bro, _that_ complicates matters…" Kate looked up and let her eyes follow Esposito's finger as it guided her to the tableau in front of her.

Settling on Castle she saw it more clearly than she was comfortable with. Because there, right in front of her was Rick Castle, holding a tiny, raggedy baby, his finger stroking reverently over the small button nose.

Her gaze locked onto that subconscious gesture of paternal protection and right then and there, she realised that she was watching Richard Castle fall in love…


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

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"Beckett, could you step into my office please."

Kate didn't pretend to mistake that for anything other than an immediate order and so made her way as efficiently as possible through the squad room at her boss' expected summons. Upon entering she realised that she and the Captain weren't alone.

"Detective, this is Sally Anderson from Child Protective Services."

Kate shook hands at the introduction. "I take it you've located the child's family?"

Her question wasn't as entirely case orientated as her voice would have them believe. Letting her eyes wander briefly to the view in the bullpen, she caught site of her partner, currently rocking the baby through another nap. Both the paramedics and then the paediatrician had said the kid would sleep a lot still as the drugs worked their way through the tiny system. Since the medical examinations, Castle hadn't let the kid be anywhere other than with him. And she had a feeling that if he hadn't deemed those medical interventions in the child's best interests, he wouldn't have let go then either. To say that he was going to have a hard time giving the kid up was perhaps the biggest understatement of the decade. Not that Ryan and Esposito would be much easier. They were already apparently vying for the title of 'coolest uncle'.

But Kate had known from the moment they realised there was a baby involved in their crime scene what was inevitably going to happen and so she had remained purposefully and necessarily detached. Yet even she wasn't as immune to the sight of Castle cradling that baby as she'd like to be and it was making her professional mask harder and harder to wear.

"Not as such," the interruption to her thoughts brought her sharply back to the room as the CPS Officer continued. "From what we've so far been able to piece together, it seems that the child was used as collateral in a drug payment. The mother couldn't pay, so your dead dealer slash murderer took the child as security."

Kate felt the bile start to push past her professional detachment. She had thought herself hardened; having witnessed the very worst that humanity had to offer. But this was something else entirely. "The baby…?" She trailed off, not knowing how to voice the thought.

"It seems that the one decent thing the mother did in her life was stay clean during the pregnancy. The child has no signs of pre-natal addiction, thankfully. From all the accounts we've managed to find, the mother was a binge user. Not a thing for weeks, months even, and then an all out bender lasting as long as she had the cash to fuel it."

"The mother – past tense?" Ever the detective, Kate had picked up on the salient aspect of the information.

"Yes. I'm afraid that the mother's act didn't remain clean post-pregnancy. She was DOA two days ago at St. Luke's. Drug OD. Judging by the medical reports the doctors believe that is roughly around the time the child was 'taken'." Kate swallowed hard. Two days? That innocent baby had spent two whole days drugged and stuffed in a dirty hole of a cupboard? Suddenly the single gunshot to the chest that Lanie had issued as COD seemed far too easy a way for the piece of filth to have died. It should have been slower and much more painful.

"There is no record on the father…" Captain Montgomery supplied as he shook his head in disbelief, once more bringing Kate back to the matter at hand. "CPS have been unable to find any other relatives of the deceased and therefore the child is to be taken into care, Detective."

Kate eyed her Captain, aware of everything he wasn't actually saying.

She nodded, resigned, and squared her shoulders. "I'll tell him, Sir." She almost smiled at the Captain's breath of relief. "If you would excuse me?"

Kate assumed permission and with a quick nod to Ms Anderson, she left the office and made her way over to her desk. Swallowing at another lump in her throat she let herself take in the scene. Castle was sat just where she had left him, still holding the baby, still gazing with such tenderness that she could _feel _it from across the room, Ryan was hovering over? his right shoulder, Esposito over the left and all three were mesmerised by the little one.

She _could_ do this. This was her job.

"Castle?"

The object of her focus snapped his gaze up to her and in that unguarded moment she saw clean through his artifice and games, there was no page-six playboy, no pigtail pulling man-child here. There was just a guy whose paternal instinct shone strong and true, his smile eloquent of his contentment, until the moment he read her face. She should have known he wouldn't need her words. One of his greatest strengths was his perception, most especially in regards to her. She watched as he looked away from her, into Montgomery's office, his emotions, so easily readable, flashed quickly in his eyes as he realised what – or rather whom – she had come for.

She noticed in her periphery that the boys had taken a subconscious, self-protective, step away. Knowing that their moment was over and the harsh reality was about to kick in.

Castle, however, looked back at her, down at the baby and then back up at her once again.

"CPS?"

Kate gave him the unspoken answer and watched his arms tighten protectively around the infant. Watched as his face altered before her eyes, his posture eloquent of what she knew had been inevitable from the moment she'd seen him at the crime scene. Holding that previously dirty and barely breathing little bundle of life, she'd known _exactly_ what Richard Castle was going to do.

Ryan and Esposito swung looks over the scene, easily deconstructing what wasn't being said and then shared a quiet but heartfelt high-five behind Castle's back.

But Kate only had eyes for the man in front of her, feeling the calm determination radiate from him as he spoke.

"No, Detective. She's mine."

She swallowed.

He had the time, the money and, as she knew well, the connections. And even if he hadn't had any of those things, it wouldn't change that one startlingly unassailable fact.

That little girl, sleeping quietly in his arms, was indeed _his._

Kate held his gaze and smiled.

TBC….

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_AN: I know Castle may seem a little OOC here, but stick with it, I promise it works out._

_Please make my day and let me know what you think while I write the rest as fast as I can._


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

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"Alexis? Mother?"

Rick dropped his keys and jacket on the edge of the sofa and paced to the bottom of the stairs.

"Alexis! Mother!"

His impatience flooded his tone and therefore raised an immediate alarm with his daughter who came hurtling down the staircase towards him, his mother not more than two steps behind.

"Dad? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Rick stood still, hating the concern on his daughter's face, but far too tense to do anything other than grab her hand and lead her to the sofa.

"Honey, I need to talk to you – to both of you actually," He let his gaze skim to his mother as she too took a seat. He could see the worry there, for once, not so carefully masked, but his priority was Alexis.

"Dad, you're scaring me, what's wrong?"

Rick sat on the coffee table, returning the tight grip the teenager had on his hands. Now that the moment was here, he wasn't sure how to begin. All the carefully rehearsed words and persuasive smiles he'd fashioned on the way back from the precinct were lost to him as he sat before his little girl.

"Richard, darling, now you're beginning to worry _me_, so just spit out whatever it is that's stuck in your throat before I give in to the overwhelming compulsion to go and find the_ really_ good scotch…"

He took another deep breath, closed his eyes and composed himself before finally, _finally,_ working the words past his lips.

"I did something today," he began, and then off Alexis' look, "…nothing illegal, I promise," he assured. "But it _is_ something that I really need to talk to you about…"

"So if it's not illegal, and I'm not down at the station bailing you out, it can't be _that_ bad."

Rick allowed himself a smile, knowing Alexis' natural defence mechanism was as strong as his own. He'd taught her well - when in doubt, crack a joke…

"_Richard!_"

The prompt from his mother brought him back to the issue at hand.

"Okay, so you know the case we've been working on - the store-owner who was shot a couple of days ago?" Seeing both women nod, he continued. "Well, we broke the case this morning. Turns out he was paying 'protection' money to a majorly badass drug dealer who had a side business in forcible extortion. When the shop owner eventually said no, the guy didn't ask questions and 'no' ended up being the last words he ever said." Rick paused, needing just a second before he got to the main point of his story.

"Anyway, we – and by we I mean Detectives Beckett, Ryan and Esposito – took him out this morning. Let's just say he resisted arrest, vehemently." Rick felt Alexis' fingers tighten even more around his. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I was safely tucked away from the shooting… I'm too afraid of Beckett kicking my ass remember?" He tried to smile to lend credence to the lie, but it was a weak attempt at best. "So after the action, I went in to help…"

"You mean 'snoop', don't you, darling?"

"No, mother, I said 'help' because I meant _help_. But that's besides the point…"

"Well, kiddo, can you get to the point? Some of us aren't getting any younger here…"

Rick shot her a look which did – as usual – nothing at all to temper her.

"_As_ I was saying… when I went in to _help_, I sort of found something. Something that's kind of… a lot… important now. And I need both of your help with it."

He flicked a glance to his mother before he let his eyes settle onto his daughters, showing her how serious he was, how big of a deal this was. And she got it, he could tell. He was grateful when she came to sit closer beside Alexis.

"There was a baby. Only a few weeks old… just stuffed in a cupboard like some old rag doll…. drugged too, so that she wouldn't make noise. And she was so small and so alone…" Rick swallowed the lump in his throat at the matching horrified expressions before him. "They'd used her as _collateral_. She was payment security, like some twisted check guarantee card."

Alexis' hand shot to her mouth, her eyes articulating her revulsion.

His mother on the other hand was eyeing him speculatively. Rick realised she already understood what he was about to say and the gentle nod she sent in his direction was enough unspoken support to carry on.

"Alexis, honey, she has no one in the world. Her mother is dead – an overdose – and the state can't find any other relative. They want to take her into the care system…"

"Dad…"

"I don't want her to have to live that life, sweetheart. Not when I – we – can do something about it. But I need you to be okay with this. I want her to be ours, so badly, but I can only do it if you are completely, one hundred percent okay with it."

Rick watched as his mother wrapped her arm around Alexis.

"Dad, I can't… this can't be my decision…."

"I know, honey, and I'm sorry for laying this on you with so little warning. But you are the single most important thing in my life. I don't want to give the baby up, sweetie, but this isn't just my decision. You have to be good with this too."

"What happens if I say no, Dad?"

Rick barely managed to keep his voice even, his eyes never leaving his daughter. "Then, I'd do everything within my power to make sure she's given, as soon as possible, to the kind of family that would love her forever and always.'

Alexis nodded her understanding and Rick tightened his fingers around hers. That was his second place scenario, but he'd had to have an alternative, just in case. As much as he wanted that little girl in their family, it could never be just his decision and Alexis's reaction and choice was without doubt his deal-breaker.

The silence hung for several long moments until his mother, bless her, ended the stalemate.

"Richard, why don't you go and get us some drinks. Give us a minute to collect ourselves."

Rick swallowed again, knowing she was right. Totally aware of just how huge a burden he'd, perhaps unfairly, placed on the slender shoulders in front of him. But he knew of no other way. He was always honest with Alexis and this was something she had to be totally behind him on. He dropped a kiss to her forehead, still marred by the furrow she got when she was working something through, and stood to give them some thinking space.

It was a lot to get your head around. He recognised that. Just because he had felt that instant connection with the little life as soon as he'd picked her up, didn't mean that he had a right to expect that same implicit devotion from Alexis. Especially considering that he was essentially asking her to be a big sister, sight unseen, no preparation, no warning.

Yeah, he needed to give her some time.

He let his hand squeeze his mother's shoulder as he took a step away from them towards the kitchen. He hadn't gone more than three steps when Alexis stopped him.

He turned around and looked at his little girl, mature beyond her years, wise throughout her soul and he knew she had made her decision.

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"Ah, Mr Castle, I'm Marcus, we were expecting you."

Rick strode down the last remaining yards of the sterile corridor and offered his hand to the man waiting for him.

"If you'll just give us a few moments…?"

"Sure. No, problem…"

Rick took a deep breath, the kind that filled your lungs and made you feel invincible. He needed that right now, probably more than ever.

A few minutes later, Marcus reappeared and Rick knew the moment of real truth was at hand.

Carefully, Rick took the little girl and as he felt the warm weight of the baby settle into the crook of his elbow, his eyes glistened. He turned so that the man wouldn't see his vulnerability and then, refocusing, he smiled.

"Alexis, this is Sophie…"

Rick gently and carefully placed the sleeping bundle into his daughter's waiting arms, subtly correcting her arm position so that she held the baby securely. With that done, he stepped quietly behind Alexis and rested his hands on the teenage shoulders, feeling her body register the sensation and watching her face light up with all the love that she was capable of.

"Sophie," he whispered, letting his finger trail down the button nose once more. "This is Alexis; she's your big sister."

Alexis looked up from the baby and smiled brightly, lighting up his entire soul. He dropped a kiss onto the bright red crown as he heard her giggle down at the baby.

Acceptance and adoration, protection and love.

His family.

TBC…

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AN: Firstly, thank you for all the lovely reviews I've had! You guys are wonderful! And Secondly, although this is being posted as an 'in progress' story, I've written up to chapter 9 already, so I promise you that this will be finished, so no need to worry.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

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_AN: So, I think I need to say here, that I know there is no way in the real world that Castle would've been allowed to have to baby in the manner I've depicted so far in this fic. NOr would he be allowed to 'fast-track' anything adoption related. But rather than getting bogged down in a plot line that would've been extraneous to the fic I am trying to tell, I took a shortcut. But I would like to mention here the amazing work that CPS and all Emergency Foster Carers do for children – and for Foster carers in general. You guys deserve the world on a plate for the amazing thing you do every single day_

_I hope you will all allow this particular element in the fic to be filed in the 'artistic license' folder. Thanks!  
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_Now, on with the show._

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Kate knew that it would be a forgone conclusion and as she left the break room, coffee in hand, the gossip proved her right.

Richard Castle was on a fast-track adoption process (if there was such a thing) for Sophie - which was hardly surprising when you had a precinct Captain, a judge and even the Mayor himself vouching for you.

Which meant that logically she knew what was going to have to happen very shortly.

There was no way he would risk being out in the field with a weeks old baby to look after, neither would he have the time – and more likely – the energy to follow her around the precinct. Their time together was coming to a swift conclusion, and without exploring the pang she felt deep in her gut, she knew that she wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, she'd kick his ass if he even tried to balance a new baby and a job that wasn't even _his_ job to begin with.

"Yo, it's Papa Castle!"

The station erupted into spontaneous applause as the man of the moment stepped off the elevator. Esposito's greeting bounced around the room as every cop gave Castle a hero's welcome. Kate smiled. It wasn't every day such a very bad case got a happily ever after and New York's Finest were showing their appreciation. It was only when he stood a few feet away from her and quirked that oh-so-dangerous eyebrow in her direction that she realised she'd been applauding too.

"Why, Detective Beckett, I didn't know you cared…"

"Yeah, don't get used to it, Castle. You caught me at a weak moment."

"_Really_? Well then I guess I need to catch you there more often…"

She rolled her eyes, partially to re-establish the boundaries between them, but mostly to get his mouth to form that ridiculously endearing little half-grin. She wasn't disappointed and she couldn't look away. There was something new lurking in his eyes, something he normally hid better and it was something that intrigued her. Something she wanted to see again.

"So, dude, what's the latest scoop on the littlest Castle-to-be?"

Kate glanced down, quickly recovering her poise and sending a silent thank you to Ryan for his – for once – timely interruption as Castle babbled on as only a new father can.

"Oh my God, she actually stayed awake this morning when we visited. She's getting her strength back at last! And her eyes are so blue… I'm hoping they don't change, but I can't say I would care too much if they did. She's totally fascinated with Alexis's hair; you should see her follow the red around when Alexis moves out of Sophie's sight…."

Kate watched as the infectious nature of Castle's unadulterated glee spread around the room. She didn't think she'd ever seen the entire department smile in unison before.

"…and I swear, she's going to be so unbelievably beautiful. I mean she already is, but Sophie Castle is going to knock some socks off. Alexis is already planning a whole heap of girlie things. Hair clips and scrunchies and the like… once her hair grows in of course…."

Kate moved away from the gathering, deliberately putting herself at a safer distance, but she still listened.

"…we went baby shopping yesterday. You guys, some of the stuff they have now is so _adorable_, Alexis and I may have gone a little bit over the top on the outfits… some of the _cutest_ little shoes….. Alexis couldn't resist a little pink sleep-suit with 'don't blame me, my daddy did it' on it. She said she needed to educate Soph as soon as possible… and my mother? I think she's decided to buy out FAO Schwarz! But the little pink unicorn you guys sent is in her basinet, just waiting for when she comes home…"

The joy in his voice was almost painful for her to hear because as thrilled as she was that that little girl was going to have the most wonderful life, she was hurting deep in that part of herself that no-one – save him and his ridiculously accurate perception – ever got to see. And she hated that she sullied this moment with an almost selfish reaction.

It was a few minutes later when she felt, rather than saw, him sit down in his usual chair. She also felt the change in tension in him. This was it then.

"Beckett… Kate…"

"Castle… don't…" She smiled at him, bittersweet though it was, because as much as she'd steeled herself; the mask just wasn't quite up to the job for once. "You have a little girl that needs you a lot more than Nikki Heat ever did. You can't slay dragons for a while… and I'd kill you if you tried."

She saw his lips lift into a semblance of his trademark smile and she knew he remembered her allusion to that conversation with Agent Shaw.

_How do you manage?_

_You miss a few birthdays and you make a lot of phone calls... my husband tucks her in every night, tells her that mommy's off slaying dragons_.

"It's not like I do a lot of slaying, myself… but you're right. I can't…" He glanced sadly at her before she saw him visibly draw himself together. "But, this isn't a goodbye… you'll come visit, I'll come visit - _like a lot_ - 'cause I have to show her off, don't I?"

"Sure, Castle…" Kate trailed off knowing she'd not given him the reassurance he was so obviously looking for. But she couldn't in good faith make that promise yet. He clearly understood her reluctance and where it stemmed from. He had always had the infuriating knack of seeing clean through her and getting behind her walls with seemingly very little effort and right now was no different. She startled slightly as he took her hand in his and as she felt gooseflesh form on her arms from the gentle glide of his thumb across her knuckles. His eyes were soft and as open as she'd ever seen them when he spoke.

"Kate… I need to say… this is… we…" She watched, holding her breath as he closed his eyes in frustration. "Kate, I don't want to leave without telling you that I want us, you and me, to try and be something…"

"Dude, come over here, you need to Bluetooth your brag-book to us godfathers!"

Kate pulled her hand free and heard him curse softly at Ryan's unwitting intrusion.

"Go, show off your new daughter to her admiring fans."

"Kate…"

"Please, Castle… just… not right now, okay?"

His eyes softened further as he heard the almost indiscernible crack in her voice.

"All right, Kate. But soon… promise me?"

She could only nod at him, her voice long since gone. But he returned her gesture before she watched as he walked over to the group of officers at the far side of the squad room and took a long, deep breath. He was leaving and she was happy about it because he was leaving her for the best reason possible.

She understood that.

But it still hurt.

_TBC…_

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AN: Next part should be up over the weekend!


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

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_This chapter is back from my beta sooner than expected! _

_Now it's time to begin to delve into the complexity that is Kate Beckett. She intrigues me and I hope I do her justice from this point on in the story._

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"I can't do this!"

Lanie jumped, startled from her paperwork by the crash of the door slamming open and banging into the wall.

Placing her pen down and taking a second to catch her breath, the M.E let a small smirk cross her lips before quickly pulling on her 'game face' and turning to the very much alive homicide detective currently pacing the length of her morgue.

"And a good afternoon to you too, Detective Beckett, what brings you down to my lowly morgue?"

"I mean it, Lanie. I can't do this anymore!"

"Well, it might help a little if you clued me in on exactly what 'this' is…" Playing dumb was often a good tactic for Lanie where an emotional Beckett was concerned – at least for a little while.

"Him. This. Them!" The frustration lacing her friend's voice almost made Lanie smile. For such a great detective, Kate Beckett could sure be dumb sometimes.

"Very eloquent! Now, am I to assume you are talking about Castle and his newest addition?" Lanie couldn't help the smirk. This was almost too much like fun.

Lanie watched her friend pace distractedly for a few more seconds. This was the most un-Kate-like display that she'd ever witnessed to date. And since Castle had come to play in their sandbox, that was saying something.

Lanie loved that someone had _finally_ gotten under her friend's skin, that someone had rattled her out of the self-composure she was so famous for. But more importantly Lanie loved seeing that it wasn't just for kicks. Castle may well have started out looking for something fun to fire his imagination, but he'd got something a lot more complicated in Kate Beckett and he hadn't stepped away. In fact he'd done the opposite. He'd pushed her – admittedly too hard on occasion – unsettled her, made her see and think and feel again, challenged her to live for more than just her victims and her murder boards and for that Lanie would be forever grateful.

Kate was stubborn and all the years of self protection had hardened her shell into something almost,_ almost_, impenetrable to everyone save a select few. Lanie knew how Kate felt, knew she hadn't been truly ready to face the fact that in Richard Castle she had found something – someone – who wouldn't let her settle for anything less than everything she truly was.

Watching her friend's pacing agitation grow even more, Lanie realised that Kate had finally worked herself to her breaking point and she was ready for a real, no holds-barred, honest-to-goodness intervention.

This would need deft handling, finesse even, and if that didn't work, quite possibly a large, heavy and blunt object…

"Kate!"

The frantic pacing and muttering stopped abruptly as Lanie saw Kate's attention focus back on her.

Lanie motioned to the chair opposite her desk. "Sit down. And explain to me – slowly – what _exactly_ has gotten you so riled this time."

Not that she didn't already know, or couldn't hazard a pretty accurate guess. It was no secret after all that the adoption was going to proceed quickly and smoothly, and that meant a certain novelist had to step away from his consulting at the precinct. Combine that with his last minute attempted declaration – that piece of information had come courtesy of the boys upstairs - and it was no wonder Kate Beckett was in freefall.

Kate, for once, did as she was directed and it seemed to Lanie like all the hot air and bluster whooshed out of her the second her butt touched plastic. So she waited, only arching one precisely shaped eyebrow in her friend's direction.

"You know about the baby, right?" Kate sighed and Lanie decided to let the 'Do you think I'm stupid' look speak for itself. Although this was supposed to be done with finesse, some questions were just too stupid to deserve anything else.

"If you mean that cute little parcel of pink that he's in the process of loving and adopting, then yes, I know all about Sophie Castle." Lanie watched as Kate reacted to the little girl's name. Her detective friend was good, but in this, Lanie knew that she was better.

"He left, Lanie."

Lanie fought the urge to suck in her breath and the pain those words contained. Finesse, she repeated to herself in her head.

"Of course he did, girl. Don't tell me you want him to try to do the new-dad thing _and_ hunt murderers with you…"

Kate's eyes snapped to hers, emotion crackling through them. "I'd kill him if he tried!"

"Of course you would. So why, when for once, writer-boy is doing exactly what you want him to do, has he caused a reaction like this?"

Lanie almost cracked then, watching her friend come so close to crumpling in on herself, was a horrible sight to see. But she steeled herself, because this needed saying – all of it. It was her job as best-friend-in-chief and so she waited for Kate to answer.

"Because… because he's _gone_, Lanie."

Lanie moved to her friend's side. "Oh, girl…"

"And I shouldn't feel this way, Lanie. It's horrible that I do. She needs him; he had to go, and he's doing this _amazing _thing, but God, Lanie… I didn't want him to leave."

"Seems to me there's a simple solution," Lanie whispered softly and allowed a small smile at Kate's confused look.

"Follow him." Lanie couldn't help the element of 'duh' that may or may not have crept into that response. Thankfully, Kate didn't seem to notice.

"How can I, Lanie? He started to tell me… before he left…. and I knew what he was going to say and I blew him off. I'm not ready for this, Lanie. Hell, I was hardly ready for Richard Castle, the author, let alone Richard Castle the father… the man."

"Kate…" Lanie tried to interrupt but the roll was not to be stopped.

"…he was complicated _before_ this, Lanie. But now it's even worse! Say we… God, say we try to be what he wanted? It was hard enough to think about what being with him as 'playboy-of-the-week, bad-boy author'. All the press, the parties and the attention? That's not me, Lanie." Lanie held Kate's look, but remained silent, this was Kate's moment and Lanie daren't interrupt.

"And yes, I have feelings for him, who wouldn't? He gets under your skin before you even know he's started trying. But now he's got this whole brand new family and I'm not ready for that. Alexis would've been easier, she's older and understands more, hell she's the most grown up out of the entire family – except that she's not. Not really. Because he's a _great_ dad, Lanie and I always knew he was a package deal, but now he's a _new_ dad and I just don't think I could be a new _mom_, Lanie… and if I tried, and we didn't work, and I'd have to walk away…"

Lanie was torn between laughing, crying and reaching for that blunt and heavy object. "Woah girl, at least you finally admitted you care about him, but I just lost a decade of my life! Don't ya want to try a date first before becoming Mom?'

"That's just it, Lanie; it wouldn't be as easy as a first date. And you and I both know it."

Lanie eyed at her friend but said nothing more, letting her vent her thoughts.

"What if we dated and it didn't work out. And then I'd not just lose him, Lanie, but if I let myself love those two girls like they deserve to be loved…"

"Honey, if it didn't work out – and believe me hell would freeze over before _then_ - if you think Richard Castle is they type of man to stop you from seeing those girls, then you haven't been paying enough attention for the last couple of years to deserve him in the first place."

Lanie was pleased to see the truth of that sink back in. Kate already knew this, but Lanie knew that this was Kate's way of working through towards the real issue.

Lanie watched Kate draw in a deep shaky breath before she spoke. "What if it _did_ work, Lanie? What if it did and we were happy for years and years, what if we made a truly happy family together and then something happened that _made_ me leave them. I lived it, Lanie, my father lived it and I don't ever want to put the people I love through that. I have a dangerous job, Lanie and I'm good at it and it's not fair of me to want something that will put them through what I lived through!"

And there it was. Lanie could almost hear Castle in her head shouting 'Bam, said the lady!' But this was the moment Lanie had been waiting for Kate to get to. The moment Kate Beckett needed a nudge back in the right direction and Lanie was just the woman to do it.

"Then you, Kate Beckett, are a coward."

Lanie watched the barb strike home and render Kate mute, leaving the field open for the end-game.

"I see why you run, Kate, don't you think I don't. I see it as clear as the perky little nose on my face; and so does he. And that scares you. You've lived through something no-one should ever have to experience, but now you are denying yourself something special through fear. But worse still you are denying _them_ something wonderful too. The way I see it is that you don't get to make that decision for them. If they want you, if _he_ wants you, you don't get to tell him no just because you are frightened of something, someday, _maybe _happening. It's okay to be scared, honey, but if you push him away because you are afraid of living, of being alive? Then yeah that makes a coward."

Lanie reached out and wrapped her hand around her friend's; pulling slightly to make sure Kate was listening closely to her next words.

"He's your one and done, Kate and it's about time you showed him that."

Kate opened her mouth, readying the routine protest, but then closed it again as tears formed in her eyes, her voice gravely with emotion. "He _is_ my one and done, Lanie. And I'm terrified."

TBC…

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_AN: Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far. It means the world to me, it really does. _

_Just to let you all know, the story is now fully written and in the hands of my beta reader. Its twelve parts plus an epilogue and I will post each part as soon as my beta is done and I've made any edits she advises._

_Thanks again for reading,_

_Callie._


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

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_

_So, this chapter is a little shorter than the last, but I hope you will enjoy it just as much._

_I'm going to try to get the next chapter up later today as this one is so short.  
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Kate listened to the ringing while she waited for him to pick up. The conversation with Lanie had shaken her and now she needed the one thing all girls needed sometimes.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dad,"

"Katie! How are you, honey?"

Her dad's voice comforted her instantly and Kate sighed into the phone.

"I don't know, Dad, but I think I'm in the middle of making a huge mistake…" Kate heard her own voice thicken and she knew that her Dad had heard it too.

"Kate, what's wrong?"

"I'm okay, Dad," Kate reassured, knowing her father's mind needed settling before she continued. "Well, physically I'm fine…"

From the sounds she could hear, she knew her dad had moved into his favourite chair, getting ready for what he must already know was going to be a much needed heart to heart for her.

"But emotionally?"

"Emotionally, not so much, Dad; Castle left…"

She could hear the grin in his voice as he spoke again. "And yet you've been trying to convince me for years that the day he did you'd throw a block party..."

"No, Dad, there's more to it than that…"

"Isn't there always? Talk to me, Katie," his voice was so calming, so mellow that Kate went back in time to when that voice helped soothe away the pain of skinned knees and bruises. This time, it wasn't as simple as a band-aid and a kiss better. So Kate took a deep breath and told the tale, all of it, from the very beginning. How they'd found Sophie, Castle's reaction, knowing as soon as she'd seen him with the baby what he was going to do and what that would mean for them – what it would mean for her. She didn't leave anything out, not even the less than personally edifying moments, this was her Dad and she needed him to _know_.

"…and then Lanie called me a coward if I let 'someday' stand between us," Kate said, not able to stop a small pout from creeping into her voice.

"I see."

When he didn't offer anything else, Kate frowned into the phone.

"What do you see, Dad? 'Cause I could really use some help right about now…"

"Ah, honey, what I see is that I wouldn't give back on single moment I had with your mother. Even knowing what was going to happen, I wouldn't trade a second of it for the entire world. Would you?"

Kate felt her eyes glisten and her throat constrict. "No, I wouldn't."

"And if I _had _known what was going to happen, honey, it would just have made me cherish the time we did have together even more."

Kate felt a tear trail down her cheek.

"Katie, if you are holding back because you don't feel something for him, or you don't feel _enough_ for him to take the chance when there is a baby to consider, that's fine. But the truth is that none of us really know how long we have on this Earth, Katie and I've learned the hard way that you need to make every single second mean something and treasure it."

Kate listened to her Dad inhale a shaky breath before he continued. "Kate, when you needed me the most, when you really needed me, I was too buried under my own pain to be there for you. The biggest regret I have, and the one I shall remember to my dying day wasn't losing your mom, Katie, it was losing myself – and very nearly losing you in the process. Something tells me that Richard Castle is a stronger man than I was, honey; he's not going to let his own pain stop him from being there – for _all _of you. Don't let my weakness cloud your judgement now."

"Dad…" Kate sighed, not wanting her father to feel any more guilt, but also know how undeniably honest every word she had heard had been.

"Honey, listen to me, if he means as much to you as this conversation suggests, even if being with him means you have to take the package deal, and all the ifs, buts and maybes that comes along with that, don't walk, Katie. _Run_. "

Kate laughed at the same time that she wiped another tear away. "Daddy, I think maybe he's the one."

Kate knew that Jim Beckett was smiling brightly on the other end of the phone. "Good, because I've been hinting for a while now that I was ready to be a granddad."

TBC….

_AN: Kate's relationship with her Dad has always been something I'd wanted to see explored more on the show. Sucker Punch gave us that lovely moment between them, but I couldn't write this fic without at least attempting to probe some of the issues that Kate must have as a result of her canon history. _

_I hope it reads true to what we know of Kate and Jim Beckett._

_Thanks for reading and there will be another chapter later today if I get my butt in gear. _

_Callie._


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

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_So I managed to get this one up for you all today after all. I hope you enjoy!_

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Kate drew a long breath as she pressed the buzzer, ignoring the slight tremble to her hand as she did.

She needed to face this. Whatever _this_ ended up being, they all deserved the chance to find out. And maybe she was jumping the gun and crossing a dozen bridges she hadn't even reached yet – she growled in her throat – the man had even reduced her to clichés! But Kate knew that she couldn't deny or prevaricate any longer, first Lanie and then her Dad had made her face something, that on some level, she had always known. Richard Castle was an important part of her life already. She just needed to find out just how much more than that he could – would - be.

Bridges, guns and clichés aside, she'd come here with a purpose and a determination to not be the coward Lanie accused her of possibly being. Scared she may be, but cowardly she was not. And she'd prove it. If he ever opened his damn door!

Out of patience, she was about to punch the buzzer once again when the door swung open.

Kate could only stare for a moment at the vibrant red-head smiling at her before finding her voice at last.

"Martha, hi!"

"Why, Detective Beckett, I hadn't expected you for a while yet. Come in, come in."

Before Kate could protest or even focus on what exactly Martha had meant by her comment, she was being ushered into the hallway and through to the kitchen without so much as a moment to breathe.

Before she knew what hit her, Kate found herself propelled onto one of the seats at the breakfast bar while the older woman moved to collect two glasses and an already half-finished bottle.

"Wine?" Without waiting for her answer, Martha poured a generous amount of what was quite obviously an expensive red into a hearty glass and handed it over. Kate took it in almost shell-shocked hands, suddenly completely understanding why Castle had coined the phrase 'Hurricane Martha'.

"I assume you are looking for my son?"

Kate nodded her head.

"He and Sophie are at his lawyer's office. CPS visits to schedule and papers for him to sign or some-such." Kate watched as Martha waved a dismissive hand. Instinctively understanding the dismissal was aimed at the endless hoops of red-tape being currently jumped through and the impatience of having to wait for the final stamp of approval that would give this woman, this force of nature, another granddaughter to love and spoil in equal measure.

Kate couldn't hide her smile and found that she didn't even want to. However she'd come for a purpose and since that purpose wasn't currently here… she placed the wineglass carefully on the breakfast bar and lifted her gaze to Martha's, a little surprised to see a rare seriousness in the elder woman's eyes which halted any retreat Kate had been about to make.

"Detective, since you're here, I wondered if I could talk to you a moment? Gal to gal, as it where. There is something I've been meaning to say to you, and I figure now is as good a time as any….'

'Martha, I…'

"Sit back, drink your wine, Detective and let me take the stage…"

Kate did as she was told and took a sip, not even thinking about defying the order.

"Do you know why he calls you 'extraordinary'?"

Kate choked a little on the swallow that she had just taken as Martha's opening salvo caught her completely by surprise. She should have known better than to expect this woman to beat around the bush.

"Of course you do, you're not remotely stupid, most of the time at least. Yes, you are very good at what you do and you have the courage and the strength to do the job in the first place. But that's not why he told the world – or at least the part of the world that reads his books – that you are extraordinary. No, you are extraordinary to my son Detective Beckett, because he realised that you don't ever give up and that he can trust that no matter how hard it gets, you'll be there, waiting... eventually."

Kate swallowed as she watched the older woman's eyes begin to glisten.

"He's been hurt in ways he hasn't told you about yet and when it would've been the easiest thing in the world for him to drown himself in that image you hate – the bad-boy author that his publishers love – he sucked it up and got on with what needed doing."

The older woman paused and took a sip of her wine. Maybe is was an actress's instinctive need for a dramatic pause, but more likely, Kate thought, that this wasn't an easy subject for Martha to talk about and she wanted to make sure that what she was about to say was taken seriously.

"Whatever else he is – and don't think for one moment that I'm blind to his faults – my son is an incredible father, Detective, and he has been since he was barely an adult himself. You can't do that, _be_ that, unless you are capable of a love and devotion you worry that he's not."

Kate felt those words hit home. It was nothing less than the truth after all.

"_He_ doesn't give up or walk away any more than you do and that makes him an extraordinary father. But it makes him an even better man. Look around you, Detective, he shows you that everyday and if you weren't so guarded you'd see what you are on the brink of throwing away. Oh, he'll wait for you, Detective, but sooner or later, there will come a point where he'll say enough and he'll walk away, and he'll do it because he will have convinced himself that it's what _you_ want."

Kate opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come. Nothing Martha had said had truly surprised her, but the fact that she had said it at all had. It had always been an unspoken reality and that she had said it _now_…

"Tell him the truth, Detective. You owe him at least that much."

It had been a very long time since Kate had taken a talking to like that… and coming in such a short space of time after the conversations with Lanie and her father, it rattled her. From her friend she had accepted it, from her father she had asked for it, but she hadn't for one moment thought Martha would deliver something so utterly maternal that it caught her utterly off guard and exposed.

More so when she realised Martha wasn't mothering just her son in this conversation. She was mothering _her_.

"And by the way, _I _never left either. Not in the way that Meredith and Gina did and I can promise you that if the situation that you are _really _afraid of ever arose, that I never would. I would be here, in the same place I have been for the past forty years. Right by my son, whether he knows it – or wants it – or not. Now, finish your wine, Kate. He'll be home soon."

TBC…

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_AN: I do love exploring the depth of the characters on this show, even the supporting cast has a wonderfully rich back story to play with. I hope you've enjoyed this little look at the more insightful and maternal aspect of Martha which the show gifts us with from time to time._

_Thank you all again for your amazing reviews, the next part should be up tomorrow.  
_

_Callie._


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

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__Again, thank you all for your lovely reviews; they really do make my day! _

_Another double-header post today. Chapter 9 is getting uploaded as we speak.  
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_As it turned out, Kate got called back to the station before Castle returned home. She had to admit to herself that she was a little relieved when the Captain called to tell her that she was needed back at the station as CPS and Castle's lawyers needed the final paperwork on Sophie's case in order to move on with some of the legalities of the adoption.

So she'd given Martha an apologetic look, afraid the elder woman would see it as a retreat. That after hearing what Martha had to say, she'd maybe decided against taking a risk. But she needn't have worried, especially once Kate had explained _why_ she was going back to the station and Martha had sent her on her way with a smile and a heartfelt hug.

Kate was still feeling the comforting effects of that hug all these hours later as she sat at her desk finishing her reports.

The Castles might be unconventional, but they were as close a family as she had ever seen… and for the first time, Kate admitted to herself just how badly she wanted to be a part of it – of them.

She let her fingers stroke over the picture of Sophie in the case notes she was finishing up. Before and after shots taken of the little girl stared out of the folder, juxtaposed side by side on the sheet of paper.

The first shot taken only a few minutes after Castle had found her in the cupboard could easily have been mistaken for a corpse-shot. A still frame couldn't show the almost imperceptible, barely-there breaths the baby was taking. No, this picture only showed a silent as death image of a dirty, malnourished and maltreated baby and it hurt Kate's heart so deeply that she didn't think she'd ever get that image out of her mind.

The second picture, taken much more recently, couldn't have been more different if it tried. Sophie was sucking on her fist, her eyes wide open and alight with a special kind of mischief that made Kate chuckle. But it was the bottom corner of the image that had drawn her attention over and over again, until she had given up looking away at all.

Just in shot was the top of a man's hand – a familiar hand - resting gently and protectively on the tummy of the infant, soothing and reassuring all at once. Kate smiled, remembering several of her own baby pictures where a meant-to-be-unseen hand had calmed her infant self enough to be still for long enough to consent to be photographed.

Kate let her fingers stroke the image, slowing again over that same place. That image, that hand, saying more to Kate Beckett than all the talking heads ever could. It was solace, it was comfort and it was always going to be there.

Kate bit her lip gently, stroking the picture once more. It was time, past time, if she were honest with herself.

"Beckett, why are you still here?"

Kate looked up, jarred from her thoughts. Seeing her captain emerge from his office, coat in hand, readying to leave she quickly closed the case file in front of her.

"Just finishing up the paperwork, Sir."

"Detective, even on your worst days it doesn't take you four hours to complete one case file…"

"…and I was thinking, Sir."

She could tell that had surprised him. She looked back down at the file in her hands as her captain made his way over, knowing he already knew why she was lingering over this file in particular.

"Nothing like a dark bullpen and monotonous paperwork to free up your mind…"

"No, sir, there really isn't."

"Sometimes, for as much good as chattering heads do for you, all it really takes is peace and quiet and before you know it, you find the answer has been staring you in the face right from the very beginning. And it isn't nearly as complicated as you once thought."

Kate smiled. His voice might be soft, but his meaning hit as hard as each conversation she'd had before him.

And he was as right as the others had been.

"Thank you, sir…" Kate sent him a simple smile of thanks as she watched him pick up his coat and head to the elevator.

"Goodnight, Detective."

Kate watched as the elevator doors closed, staring a moment longer, replaying the events and conversations of the day before closing the file and gently stacking it in her outbox.

She needed to talk to him.

It really _was_ time.

She grinned at the empty bullpen. Richard Castle wasn't going to know what hit him.

TBC…

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_AN: There we go, now do we think Kate is finally where she needs to be in order to go and get what, and whom, she wants? I confess to not starting this chapter with the idea of Montgomery showing up, I wanted Kate to have a little time alone in her own head after the conversations she'd had. But Roy showed up and who am I to argue with the Captain when he wants to play?_

_Next up? Castle and Kate… finally._

_Callie._


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

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__This is where I have to own up to being a complete Nathan Fillion fangirl. I hope you will all allow me to indulge my obvious shallowness as it presents itself during this chapter. It works in context of the character (Kate) and the plot and most especially for the metaphor too… I promise._

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"Kate!"

Oh, how much would she have given for a camera at that precise moment!

Rick Castle, debonair page-six-playboy, stood in his open doorway in tatty, worn jeans and no shirt, a spit up cloth over one shoulder and a baby against his other shoulder. There was a half empty baby bottle sticking out of his pocket while hair stuck up in every direction and he was wearing a look of complete and utter shock at realising who he had just opened his door to.

"Nice look, Castle…" She grinned wide, allowing her amusement to show in her eyes as she watched him shift Sophie back over to the burp-cloth covered shoulder.

"I'm sorry; we were just doing the burping thing. Please, come in…"

As he stepped back to allow her to enter, Kate noticed that he'd automatically gone back to rubbing the tiny back and she couldn't help but let her eyes linger over what that small movement did to his biceps and deltoids. Really, it wasn't like she'd never seen a half naked man before. Kate gave herself a mental slap. She needed to concentrate.

"We had a slight mishap with our timing, not to mention our aim, didn't we Soph?" His grin was infectious, as was the sheer joy in his eyes. "My shirt was declared a casualty of the evening… I've not had a chance to change yet."

Just as Kate was about to reply, a surely-too-loud-for-her-body burp sounded from somewhere over his right shoulder and his eyes shone even brighter.

"Good girl! See, missy, didn't I tell you it'd be worth it?"

Kate watched on as he brought the little girl back down into the crook of his arm, dispensed with the burp-cloth and fished the bottle back from his jeans, before popping the lid and gently sliding the teat back into the little girl's mouth. Right at that moment she couldn't decide if she was more impressed by his talent or mesmerised by his half naked self as he continued to coo nonsense at the happy baby.

"Come in, sit… and tell me to what I owe the pleasure of your company this fine evening, although you will have to restrain yourself from ogling the manly physique on display…"

Kate laughed at him, at the pure and typical Castle-ness of that comment. Even in the most atypical situation she'd ever encountered with him – and given their history, that was saying something… She stopped suddenly, aware of what she was actually seeing.

Here indeed was first-hand evidence of what so many people had been trying to tell her. What that picture in the file had told her. No matter what circumstances fate threw at Richard Castle, regardless of how his life changed for good or ill, he was still always purely himself.

Compassionate.

Dependable.

_Extraordinary._

"Kate?" His voice interrupted her thoughts as he stood a few feet away still feeding the baby but aware that she hadn't followed. He was watching her closely, evidently trying to decipher her sudden change in mood. She coughed, bringing herself back, but right at that moment, she was seeing him more clearly than she'd ever let herself before.

"You're extraordinary…"

The words left her mouth before she could even think to call them back and they hit him with an undeniable impact. His mouth dropped open, his eyes widened and for once he didn't seem to be able to answer back quickly. In fact, she was sure that if he'd been holding anything other than Sophie, he'd have dropped it. He just stared at her, simply stunned… his chest rising and falling faster and deeper than it had just a minute before as they stood still, neither of them moving and more importantly, neither of them looking away.

Until, of course, Sophie spat the teat out of her mouth, and let out a wail of pure baby impatience. Rick quickly looked down, taking in the situation – a now empty bottle - before employing the same skill as before to put the bottle in his pocket (with its lid on), put the burp cloth back over his shoulder before moving Sophie into a comfortable burping position.

Kate let her self contemplate his hands as he held the tiny little body safe and secure against him. Every movement he made screaming loud and clear that no matter what happened, he would always be there for this little girl, just like he had been always been there for Alexis. Strong and sure and comforting and he was always going to be there to catch her and dust her off if she fell.

Kate smiled at him then, a soft radiant smile that the moment demanded, one she knew she had never let him see before and one that she could see affected him almost as much as her last statement.

Speaking of...

"I mean it, Rick, you truly are extraordinary…"

"I…wow…"

She grinned at him. Laughing at how easily she could fluster him; laughing with the sudden freedom to be _able_ to fluster him.

"What's the matter, Ricky, cat got your tongue?"

Another ridiculously huge burp sounded and his attention snapped back to the little girl in his arms.

"Kate, I'm not exactly sure what is going on right now, but if it's going where I _hope_ it's going, I have a feeling that we'd both rather we had this conversation when Sophie didn't smell of… well, when she didn't need changing… and I didn't smell of baby and wasn't half naked…"

"Go change her; I'll be here when you're done."

"You will?" She hated the small flicker of uncertainty she saw in his eyes. That needed to stop right now.

"Yes, Rick. I will. And by the way, I don't mind the baby or the baby smell, but I especially don't mind the half-naked part…"

Kate watched as he almost tripped over his own two feet on his way to his room, he really was too easy sometimes.

And she was having way more fun than she'd ever imagined.

TBC…

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_AN: And so it begins… _

_I truly, from the bottom of my heart, want to thank you all for reading and for the amazing reviews you guys have sent my way. You make me grin like a fool._

_Look out for the next part tomorrow. _

_Callie._


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

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_Rick was well and truly flustered as he went through the never-forgotten habit of changing his daughter's diaper. That Kate was here stunned him, after the way she left it at the station, asking for time, obviously unsure and a little afraid. He'd worried that she wasn't ever going to think he – they – were worth the chance.

But she was here and she was teasing him, flirting with him… he hadn't missed the way her eyes wandered over his chest again and again. She'd called him extraordinary! Hell, she'd called him _Rick_.

Something had finally changed for her. It was like something had unlocked itself and let her open up to him, in a new way.

He'd always known that she was confident, sexy and fun… but that she hid her true self behind alternating layers of kick-ass and badass… so that she could do her job and be 'Detective Beckett'. He understood that, he loved that about her, but what he had just seen was truly just _Kate _and he'd been waiting for that for a very long time.

He'd just witnessed was the first sign of her accepting that they were going to be great together and that she was ready to find out just how great.

He just didn't want to smell of spit-up when they did.

He looked down at the gurgling baby on the changing mat and realised he'd changed, wiped and re-dressed her without even thinking about his actions. It was a pity that he couldn't say the same for himself. He needed to shower and change. Looking over at the crib by his bed, he knew that Sophie would be sleepy after her bottle, but just like with Alexis, the overly protective part of him hated leaving her alone in a room when no-one else was home…

He grinned.

Yes, that was a much better idea.

He knew that a big part of Kate's issues has stemmed from Sophie. He had even understood why. At first it was because she knew that CPS were going to get involved, after all, he'd seen Ryan and Esposito step back from that as well. They were cops through and though and as such they understood the dangers of getting emotionally involved, so they protected themselves as best as they could from it.

But it was later, once the adoption process had begun, as Ryan and Esposito, hell, even the Captain had almost come to blows right in the middle of the station about who got to hold Sophie that Rick had realised Kate was still holding herself back. That she barely looked at his little girl, let alone asked to hold her, or touch her. If it had been any other woman, Rick would have been hurt badly by that, but it wasn't any other woman. It was Kate, _his_ Kate and he knew her better than she ever suspected.

As amazingly great at her job as she was, as perceptive and insightful as she was when it came to murders and as compassionate and generous as she was with the families left behind by those acts of violence, when it came to herself, Kate Beckett was an idiot. Because the more she felt, the more she had the potential to feel, the closer she guarded her heart.

But Rick knew that this wasn't just about her protecting herself.

No, the central plot in this little story he was living through was that Kate Beckett was trying to protect him.

She was trying to protect him and his family.

"Ah, Sophie, she can really be dumb sometimes, can't she? It's a good job we love her, isn't it?"

Rick picked up the little girl and stroked her nose.

"I think it's about time that Kate Beckett got to see just how irresistible us Castle's can be."

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Kate spun away from the photo she was examining when she heard him pad back into the living area. He carried a freshly changed and fist-sucking baby in one arm, while he was attempting to force his hair into some semblance of order with the other.

He was still half naked.

She couldn't decide if that boded ill or well.

Watching his shoulder flex, she decided well; very, _very_ well.

But it surprised her. "I thought you'd gone to change?"

He smiled at her, that devil-twinkle in his eyes making an appearance. "I did, but she's sleepy and I don't want the shower to wake her. Come here…"

Kate automatically took a step towards him and before she really knew what was happening, he had pulled her arm up and gently placed the sleepy baby in the crook of her elbow. Her natural instinct took over and she curved both arms around the warm weight while her heart stuttered at the sensation.

Her eyes caught his and just for a moment she saw a purity of joy flash deep across his face before he took a step back.

"Great, just rock her for a minute while I shower?" He smirked at her and started to walk away, turning his back before she had a chance to protest. He didn't even stop walking when he called back over his shoulder. "Thanks, Kate."

She watched his retreating back a moment longer, thinking he had a nerve calling his mother 'Hurricane Martha' as she had just been witness to 'Hurricane Castle'. Before she could dwell on that any more, Sophie snuffled in her arms and Kate automatically snuggled her deeper into the protection of her hold.

And she smiled.

A deep, soul affirming smile because for the first time since she had realised in the bullpen just what Castle had planned to do, she wasn't afraid of this little girl and what she represented.

* * *

Rick leant against the closed door and took a deep breath.

That had been a gamble.

Sure, he'd played it off as deliberately nonchalant, but he'd known exactly what he was asking of Kate.

But he also knew he had to push, just a little, because regardless of Kate's intent for coming here this evening, he had to be absolutely sure that Sophie wasn't going to be the deal-breaker for them.

He let out the breath he'd pretended not to have been holding. Kate could quite easily have panicked and the push he'd just given her would have been too much. But he'd watched her eyes soften as she held his little girl safe in her arms and it was enough for now to make him hope for the future he'd been wanting for a very long time indeed.

A moment later, his breath stopped once more. He stood frozen to the spot while his heart tried to beat right out of his chest.

Because he had just heard Kate Beckett start to sing a lullaby to his daughter.

TBC…

* * *

_AN: Wow, you guys, your reviews are amazing! Thank you so much!_

_Chapter 11 will be up tomorrow. I promise. _


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_

* * *

__Another short, but hopefully sweet, chapter, which came back from my beta in time to post today._

_

* * *

_Kate was lost in her own little world. Sophie had drifted to sleep a few minutes ago and lay contentedly tucked in her arms as Kate had settled then both on the couch.

Now only humming the lullaby she had initially sang to send Sophie to sleep; Kate stared in fascination at the child in her arms. She'd made a decision a long time ago and it was one she had never thought to regret, never even thought to compromise on until she had met Jordan Shaw. Castle had told her not everybody made that choice, but Kate's life had taught her that leaving someone behind led to so much pain and heartache that it wasn't worth it.

Smiling at the little girl in her arms, and thinking about the man in the shower, Kate realised that selflessness was all well and good when there was only you to consider, that protecting yourself kept your safe, but it didn't keep your soul fed and your heart nourished. And when Rick – how easily she'd taken to calling him that! - finally emerged from his shower, she'd let him know that she finally understood that there were people in the world, in her life, that made the risk she'd avoided for so long totally worth taking.

"Dad, I'm home!"

Kate started, causing Sophie to snuffle in her sleep. Quickly, instinctively, stroking the baby's nose she rocked her until she settled again. By this time, Alexis had made her way over, a confused look on her face.

"Detective Beckett, hi… I… didn't expect you…."

Smiling at how the teenager kept her voice low for the sake of the sleeping infant, Kate spoke in the same hushed tones.

"Hey, Alexis, I stopped by to speak to your dad about… something…" Kate paused, unsure how much to reveal to the teenager. "…but a spit up emergency means he's currently showering…"

"…and you are on Sophie-duty… well at least he didn't take her into the shower with him this time…" Alexis smiled again and moved closer, careful to make as little noise as possible. "I'll take her if you like, I'm sure my dad didn't mean to keep you… or to foist Sophie on you…"

Kate almost laughed. "Oh, I think that's _exactly_ what he meant to do, but that's okay. If you don't mind, I'd like to hold her a while longer…?"

Kate watched Alexis. She'd taken a small gamble there, knowing Alexis was a smart kid and would figure out what Kate being here, holding Sophie, meant in the grand scheme of things. And Kate needed to gain her acceptance of the situation, because as much as Sophie had been a deal-breaker before; Alexis could still be that now.

Alexis smiled at her, a real, genuinely happy grin that made Kate answer in kind. Alexis's face showed the same ridiculously accurate perception that she witnessed so often on her father's. And this time, Kate left herself open to the appraisal. This was too important to fall into old habits mask her emotions. Alexis was too important for Kate to treat her with anything less than complete – if unspoken – honesty. In that moment, neither looked away, as silent but thoroughly honest conversation took place. Both of them smiling brightly as understanding and acceptance occurred.

It was Alexis who broke the silence.

"Hold her as long as you like, Detective Beckett, she's a hard thing to let go of once you've held her close."

Kate grinned. She truly was her father's daughter.

"Thank you, Alexis."

"You're welcome, Kate."

TBC…

* * *

_AN: Next up, the final chapter. I know you've been waiting for it, so I thank you for your patience – and mostly for making me bounce around like a loon when I get your reviews. _

_Final chapter tomorrow, with the epilogue to follow the day after._

_Callie._


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_

* * *

__Here you are; the last chapter. *sheds a tear* I hope it was worth the wait!_

_

* * *

_When Rick came back into the living room, his hair was still damp and he was busy tucking in his blue button down, but the moment he looked over to the couch he stopped dead in his tracks.

Kate still held a sleeping Sophie, warm and tight against her chest, while Alexis sat close to her, their shoulders touching. The two were talking in hushed voices about who knew what, but smiling and cosy in a way that warmed his soul… and made him want to go back into the bathroom and maybe cry a little.

He'd been so worried that this might never to happen, not without a serious amount of pushing and probably begging on his part… or a miracle at least. That maybe she was too hurt by her past, too protective of his family's future to let herself take the risk. Yet here he was, staring at his miracle.

"Dad, it's about time!"

He focused quickly and not wanting to ruin the moment before him he put on his best smirk and made his voice as blithe as he could.

"Sorry I took so long, she got baby puke in my hair. This kid has some aim, let me tell you…" Rick grinned at Alexis's '_Ew, gross'_ look before glancing at Kate, the laughter in her eyes making his heart skip a beat and causing their gazes to fuse on a current of tangible electricity.

Alexis, obviously sensitive to the mood, interrupted the sudden silence. "Well, on that note, I think I'll go to bed, Dad. I have a test tomorrow."

He watched as his elder daughter (and how much did he _love_saying that!) got up from the couch and moved to kiss Sophie's downy head, sending Kate a wicked grin as some sort of unspoken female-coded message flashed between them.

This could have been, _should_ have been, awkward; the three females he loved most in the world truly together for the first time, but somehow it wasn't. It was just… right.

Dropping a kiss to the top of Alexis's head as she passed by for a hug, he watched her climb the stairs, before she turned at the top and wished them all goodnight. Her eyes alight with mischief and happiness.

Rick stood a moment, breathing deeply, letting himself absorb the atmosphere of his home, enjoying the sea-change that had occurred tonight. Then he finally turned back to Kate, whom he discovered, had been watching him the entire time.

And he found he could stop neither his eyebrow lifting nor the tease. "Like what you see, Detective?"

The expected eye-roll made an appearance and that just made him grin as he walked over to her and deciding to play – and test the situation just a little - sat right next to her, in the exact space that Alexis had just vacated. Normally, he'd have expected a smack-down from her, at the very least that she'd shift herself out of his personal space, but not tonight. Tonight, she actually leaned in closer, letting the back of her shoulder rest against the front of his, and then she smiled _that_ smile at him.

He gulped; just a little.

"And if I told you I did?"

He gulped again, only this time there was nothing 'little' about it. Really, he needed to get a hold of himself. If she was going to flirt like this, he needed to at least hold up his end of the conversation. It wouldn't do for her to think she could fluster him this easily for the rest of their lives, now would it? Even though he knew that she totally could.

"Then I'd tell you that I like what I see too. Especially right at this moment…" He couldn't help but lean just a little closer, letting his cheek almost brush hers as they stared down at the sleeping baby she held.

They stayed silent then, letting the sound of Sophie's breathing hold their attention for what could've been hours, but was probably closer to minutes as he just enjoyed the moment and anticipated the next.

"Rick, I…"

"Kate…"

They smiled at each other, amused at the cliché they just enacted. He told her with his eyes to go first.

"Rick. This thing… you, me, Sophie, Alexis…?" He felt her shift then as she turned her face so that she could look right into his eyes and he melted faster than chocolate on s'mores. "I just want you to know that I'm sorry it took me so long."

Rick thought his heart was going to beat right out of his chest, like some sort of Looney Tune character. She was finally here and really, truly saying it. Well, as close as Kate Beckett could come to saying it right now. And regardless of the words she chose, what counted was that he knew what she meant.

He should've known she wouldn't drag it out once she'd made up her mind. Hell, as soon as he opened the door earlier, he should've known that she'd decided. And that she'd obviously decided on him… on them? It blew him away.

In that moment, staring into her eyes, he was witness to everything he'd ever hoped to see from her. Watching her cradle his daughter, words failed him. And for a man who made his living by crafting eloquent phrases into entire novels, having absolutely no words to aid him now was telling in the extreme.

He smiled at the irony. The fact that two people who loved words as much as they did could find all the answers they needed in so few, humbled him.

And so he did the only thing that he could do in that moment.

He slid one arm around Kate Beckett's shoulders; his other underneath the sleeping baby to join Kate's and pulled both woman and child tight against his chest.

Then he gently lowered his head to hers and kissed the woman he loved for the first time.

The End.

(Epilogue to follow)

* * *

_AN: So? Was it worth it? Let me know because I bounce around like a maniac at each and every review and if nothing else there is at least comedy value in that. _

_Epilogue tomorrow, folks. And just to let you know, the epilogue is my favourite chapter.  
_


	13. Epilogue

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_

* * *

__See, I'm a huge sucker for an epilogue. I always have been. An epilogue makes everything just that little bit better, I think. Plus there was one little moment that I __**needed**__ to write, I didn't feel the story would've been truly complete without it. _

_But more importantly, I need to say a HUGE thank you to M for the amazing beta job she did on this fic. M, you do indeed, rock._

_

* * *

_

Epilogue.

The room was chaos.

It was organised chaos, but chaos none-the-less.

Not that Kate had really expected anything else. The first birthday of Miss Sophie Castle was the social invitation of the season, at least according to Rick, who had personally demanded the presence of the entire family, including Ryan, Esposito, Lanie, the Captain and if the Mayor hadn't had a really good excuse, she was sure His Honour would've been here too.

Presents, balloons, streamers and discarded wrapping paper were everywhere, and Kate made a mental note to make sure that Rick and her Dad were given clean up duty later when she took a long and well deserved bath.

Kate let her eyes take in the room. Uncles Kevin and Javi were arguing over which stuffed _Finding Nemo_ character Sophie liked best, Ryan having bought her Nemo and Esposito having bought her Dory. Not that Sophie cared much; she was busy zooming around the hardwood floor in the garish, but cute, baby walker that Alexis had gifted her this morning. The garish, but cute, baby-walker being, without doubt, the toddler's favourite present of the day.

Lanie and Martha had claimed the couch and were busy discussing the merits of younger versus older male co-stars. While her Dad and Captain Montgomery were playing with the light-up bowling set Rick had bought 'for Sophie'. Ha! Actually, Kate grinned to herself, that may even deserve a 'Double Ha'. As soon as she'd seen his face in the toy store when the pins lit up on a strike, she'd known _exactly _who he was getting the toy for, and it wasn't the one year old who was at this precise moment attempting to break a land-speed record across the living room floor.

Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by a howl of pain as Sophie ran the walker right into Rick's shins.

"Woah, there, munchkin… how about you taking aim at something that isn't quite as breakable as your old man instead?" And with that, Kate heard the little girl squeal in delight as Rick pushed her across the room, making zooming noises as they went.

"Yo, Momma Bear, what you doing hiding out in here?"

Kate looked up as Esposito sat down on one of the breakfast stools.

"I'm not hiding, I'm preparing. Or do you not want cake?" With that, she threw a plastic spoon at him.

"Hey! What was that for! I could book you for a concealed weapon you know!"

"It was hardly concealed, Esposito, I threw it at you. And you know _exactly_ what it was for."

"Beckett, you are the only person in this entire loft who still won't actually say it. You are Momma Bear. You have been for a year now. Through the sleepless nights, the ear infections, the teething… for all intents and purposes you've been that little girl's mom. _But_ since I want cake and not a stab wound, I'm going to go back to the party now and leave you to your 'preparing'."

Kate watched him leave, a small frown settling itself on her face. Was it really that obvious that she wouldn't call herself 'mom'? Her relationship with Rick was solid, so much so that she'd given up her apartment nearly six months ago and moved into Casa del Castle. And it was even better than she'd ever dreamed it would be.

Her bond with Alexis was something she took great pride and comfort in, the teenager really was an amazing person already and Kate was enjoying witnessing – and helping - her grow into the astonishing adult she had always promised to be. And then there was Sophie… it wasn't that she didn't want to be 'Mom', she did. More than she ever thought possible. She just didn't want to put words into anyone's mouths, or force labels where they weren't necessarily sought. No, she would be there for every step of life that Sophie Castle made, for as long as fate allowed it, and she would continue to relish every single moment. But the choice as to how she was viewed would always be Sophie's when she was old enough to make it.

"Hey, what'ya doin?" Kate startled a little from her thoughts, but didn't look up this time, she didn't need to, she just waited for him to step behind her and rest his hands at what had quickly become their natural place on her hips. He didn't disappoint.

"I'm building the Great Wall of China, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"Ooo, you're grumpy! Don't be grumpy, Sophie banned grumpiness today, didn't I tell you?"

"I'm not grumpy, Rick, I'm busy, there's a difference."

"Yeah, there is, but when you're busy you get a little crease between your eyebrows and you bite your lip. When you're grumpy, your eyes narrow and your lips thin a little bit… just like they are doing right now."

Kate swatted him as he reached around to steal some frosting.

"Seriously, Kate, is everything ok?"

She melted at the concern in his voice and as much as she wanted to talk to him about the apparent 'Momma Bear' issue, to make sure he understood why she wasn't pushing the label, she decided that it could wait until later, when they didn't have a houseful of party guests to overhear and interrupt. So she turned slightly, angling her head in just the right way to meet his lips with hers, reassuring him – and herself – that all was well.

"Quit it you two, there are, after all, minors in the house!"

Kate turned and laughed out loud as Martha wandered into the kitchen before angling back to the counter to continue putting the finishing touches to Sophie's birthday cake.

"I still don't understand her fascination with that clown fish, kiddo…"

"Me either, Martha, but you're going to have to blame your son for it."

"Don't I always blame him for everything?" Kate chuckled at Martha's dry retort. She almost felt sorry for Rick; he was well and truly outnumbered in this house now.

"Hey! I might've started watching the movie with her, but I wasn't the one to go crazy on the Nemo themed party. That was all you, Detective!"

"Yeah, well, she does love that fish. Anyway, _I_ wasn't the one who decided to buy a one year old a rocking horse!" Kate sassed back.

"It's a pony! I bought my little girl a pony!"

"She's a year old, Rick! The Nemo ball pit would've been way more to her taste and not to mention actually age-appropriate."

"You're just jealous. I offered to buy you a pony once and you turned me down and now you're jealous!"

Kate shut him up the second best way she knew how. She rammed a sugar donut into his mouth.

"Mmmph!"

"Now, Ricky, go be a good Daddy and pick up your daughter, I'm about to serve the cake. Oh and drag my Dad and Lanie away from the chocolate fountain while you are at it, please?"

Rick's mouth was still full of donut and his lips full of sugar when he leaned in and kissed her, swatting her butt as he left to retrieve Sophie and check on the chocolate fountain bandits. Kate laughed to herself as she wiped her mouth before placing the candle in the centre of the cake.

"You make him happy, Kate. You make us all happy. Thank you."

Kate had forgotten Martha was still in the kitchen and had obviously been watching the previous interplay between them. Catching the older woman's gaze, she felt her throat constrict as she spoke. "I'm only repaying in kind. Thank _you_, he's the man he is today because of you. As much as _he'd_ never admit it, I am more than happy to; you are a great mom, Martha."

Kate met the outstretching hand half way and gripped tight.

"Oh, Darling… I love you too."

The redhead took a moment to compose herself and Kate let her. It wasn't often Martha let her see past the aging ingénue, but when she did, Kate valued it for its truth worth.

"All right, enough already or my mascara is going to run and then we really will be in a mess. There's a little girl out there waiting to blow out a candle… well, her father is waiting to blow out the candle at any rate…"

Kate laughed again, lit the enormous wax 'number one' shaped candle and picked up the cake before walking into the living room with Martha just a half-step behind.

Kate was pleased to see Alexis had taken charge of Sophie, hearing her insist that Rick would only blow the candle out before the song was finished because he had less patience that the one year old sister she carried on her hip. Grinning at Rick's pout she caught his attention to start the raucous rendition of 'Happy Birthday'.

A few minutes later, the cake was in generous pieces on various different plates and Sophie had been corralled into her high chair, occupied by her own slice of, albeit, mushed-up cake. Most of which, Kate knew from experience, would end up in her hair and on the floor.

Kate walked over to the baby and couched at the side of the high chair, automatically brushing her hand gently over the silky brown baby hair, dislodging several dozen crumbs as she went.

"Hey, sweetheart, you're enjoying your big day huh?"

Sophie giggled and clapped as Kate instinctively ran her finger over the button nose.

"I still can't believe your Daddy bought you a pony. Although I suppose I should just be grateful it wasn't a car…"

Sophie giggled again as Kate made faces at her.

"Can you say Da-da again, baby? Da-da…"

Kate had been working with Sophie for a while now, small words mainly, but it was 'Da-da' that had reduced her big, strong boyfriend to crying girly tears in the bathroom the first time he'd heard Sophie say it. And every time since, his eyes had gone glassy and his throat had worked hard to keep his reaction at bay and Kate Beckett wasn't above using that little reaction as ammunition in front of the boys…

"Ma-ma…"

Kate froze as a chubby little hand patted her cheek, no doubt covering her with blue frosting. Mama? Had she heard right? Yes, of course she had. Sophie Castle had just called her Mama and now her eyes seemed to be leaking all over her cheeks, mascara be damned.

"Oh, Sophie… I love you, baby."

Kate kissed the little girl as her heart beat right out of her chest, just as two familiar masculine hands wound their way to rest on her stomach as his chin rested on her shoulder.

"She loves you too… _Mama._ We all do…"

Kate turned in his arms, burrowing into him. "Rick, she just called me… "

"I know, Kate, I heard."

The catch in his voice caused her to look up at him and when she did, she realised hers weren't the only eyes leaking at the moment.

"But you never… I didn't want to…"

"Shh, Kate, I know. I didn't want to push either, not on this. This was always a decision between you and Sophie."

"God, Rick, I really _am_ Mama, aren't I?" She felt him wipe a thumb over her cheek, catching the new tear before it fell.

"Yeah, Kate, you really are. You always have been."

"I just can't believe she actually _said_ it, Rick…"

"Now you know how _I_ felt when she said 'Da-da' and I do believe you mocked me for hours, nay, _days_!" His faux outrage achieved its goal and lightened the moment, so she dropped a kiss on his pout. As usual, he deepened the kiss as soon as he could, at least until he was hit in the back of the head with a flying Dory-fish, courtesy of Esposito.

Kate laughed along with everyone else, but her heart was still stuttering because of the little girl contentedly covering herself in frosting and cake and the man whose current look was all too easy to decipher.

"Don't you go getting any _ideas_, Richard Castle!"

* * *

Later, after the guests had left and the party was over, Kate was once more in the kitchen, this time loading dishes into the dishwasher as Rick sauntered in.

"She's out like a light," he grinned as he took up his favourite position behind her, dropping his usual kiss on her shoulder and he slid his arms around her middle.

"I'm not surprised; she's had a big day. After all, it's not everyday a girl gets a pony…"

"You're not going to let that one go are you?"

"No, not for a good few years yet, so I'd get used to it if I were you."

"Mmm, 'years' you say? I suppose I can deal with that…"

She turned her face to his kiss, this time letting it deepen; safe in the knowledge that there was no one around to butt in at an inopportune moment. He turned her and pulled her tighter to him and she happily melted into his arms.

When the kiss naturally ended, he pulled away slightly.

"By the way, in the interests of full disclosure…"

Kate moaned. "Oh God, what did you do?"

"Nothing, I swear! It's just that before, you told me not to get any ideas?"

Kate couldn't stop her shoulders from stiffening or her face from betraying her feelings.

"Relax, Kate… I'm not going to ask… not yet at least…"

He was laughing at her, the jerk! That damned arrogant little quirk of his lips… it's a good job she found it sexy as hell.

"…I just meant that I've had ideas since the day I met you, Kate…" She quirked her eyebrow at him. "Okay, since the day _after_… but the point is, I know you aren't ready for me to ask that particular question just yet, but in every way that matters you are already 'Mama' and already 'wife', Sophie proved the former this afternoon and one day soon, I'm going to prove the latter. All you have to do is tell me you're ready, Kate and I'll make it all official within a week…the adoption papers, a wedding…"

She kissed him. Deep and hard and with every ounce of love she felt for him. But not even that could stop the mockery for too long.

"A _week_? It would take the Great Richard Castle an entire week to get the job done?"

He grinned at her, the full on, toothy, eye sparkling grin that she utterly adored.

"Firstly, thank you for calling me 'Great' and second, I would have to make sure that any timetable allows for unforeseen occurrences of dragon slaying, _Mama_…"

Kate felt the tears well in her eyes and fall, only for him to catch them on his thumb.

"I love you, Rick. Thank you for giving me your family."

"You're welcome, Kate. Thank you for letting me."

And with that he kissed her again.

Only this time, neither stopped for air.

The End.

(No, really this time is the definite end.)

* * *

_AN: And there you have it, the absolute end of the story. I swear I'm getting a little teary here now it's over!_

_I very much doubt that there will be a sequel to this, as I feel I've told the story I wanted to tell, but since I never say never, I won't close off the possibility entirely, but there's not a good chance.  
_

_I hope you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. You made me smile – and bounce - so much with your reviews, so I can only hope that I gave you even half as much pleasure as those reviews gave me. _

_Thank you so much and see you soon – with a new fic._

_Callie._


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